Poetry Spotlight: Jessica Wood
Prayer to Saint Anthony my dad sent a package to me that I never received. maybe it got…
Rock, Reggae and Ryde
Over 200 West Islanders crammed into a smoke filled back room at Clydes to hear a unique mixture of rock, reggae, funk and hip hop last Thursday night.
The variety of genres of music came from the band Ryde who entertained their audience for almost two hours with their show, “Kick mother nature in the nuts.”
A bartender from Clydes remarked that he hadn’t seen a crowd that big since the Winnipeg band The Watchmen played there a year and a half ago.
The five piece band is made up of vocal/guitarist Justin Humes, lead guitarist
Eric Ouimet, bassist Chris Garrett, drummer Ian Ouimet, on keys Louis Hueppin and a newly added rapper Omari Newton.
Garrett feels it was their best show so far. “The crowd is a huge part of it, we
feed off their energy.”
The morning after the show, I dragged drummer Ouimet and Garrett out of bed for some questions. Ouimet felt pyjamas would be perfect attire for the interview.
The band – known as Cleffner at the time – started off in 1992, jamming in Humes’s garage.
“Our music started as loud hard rock with shitty vocals,” admits Ouimet.
But as the band started getting gigs at local bars they decided to broaden their style by trying out different kinds of music. They also changed their name to Ryde.
Almost all members are currently students at McGill, except for Newton, who’s at Concordia, and guitarist Ouimet, an Ottawa University grad. All members went to the same high school with the exception of Newton, so growing up together really compliments the band’s chemistry.
“Primarily we’re friends, not just a coalition of musicians,” explains Garrett.
“When we get together we jam, drink beer, play Playstation and then go out afterwards, it’s great!”
With school and work, Ryde still manages to practice about five to six hours a week and perform about eight shows a year.
“One of the reasons we have so much energy at our shows is that we don’t get to perform very often,” says Ouimet.
“Each show is an event for us,” says Garrett. “We look forward to it.”
The Ouimet brothers built a studio in their basement specifically for their band to practice in.
The newest addition to the band is Newton, their MC/freestyle rapper who adds a hip-hop twist to Ryde’s style of music.
One of Ryde’s biggest achievements was winning the “Battle of the bands” in 1999 where they beat out 32 bands from all over Montreal receiving $4,000 in studio recording time. The band is saving the time to put toward their first full CD, which Ouimet hopes to have finished by the end of the summer. They are also
planning on entering two radio song-writing competitions at Mix 96 and CHOM.
As for the future, Ryde isn’t operating on a five-year plan. They’re enjoying making music and are taking whatever comes their way.
“I think all of us would be ready to commit to a record deal if the opportunity came along,” says Ouimet.
Garrett doesn’t feel a need to rush into anything.
“Getting a record deal is like getting a girlfriend,” laughs Garrett. “If you
actively pursue someone you’ll get nowhere. If you just relax then the best things will come your way.”
Visit Ryde’s Web site at www3.sympatico.ca/ryde/ for information on the band and any upcoming shows.
The variety of genres of music came from the band Ryde who entertained their audience for almost two hours with their show, “Kick mother nature in the nuts.”
A bartender from Clydes remarked that he hadn’t seen a crowd that big since the Winnipeg band The Watchmen played there a year and a half ago.
The five piece band is made up of vocal/guitarist Justin Humes, lead guitarist
Eric Ouimet, bassist Chris Garrett, drummer Ian Ouimet, on keys Louis Hueppin and a newly added rapper Omari Newton.
Garrett feels it was their best show so far. “The crowd is a huge part of it, we
feed off their energy.”
The morning after the show, I dragged drummer Ouimet and Garrett out of bed for some questions. Ouimet felt pyjamas would be perfect attire for the interview.
The band – known as Cleffner at the time – started off in 1992, jamming in Humes’s garage.
“Our music started as loud hard rock with shitty vocals,” admits Ouimet.
But as the band started getting gigs at local bars they decided to broaden their style by trying out different kinds of music. They also changed their name to Ryde.
Almost all members are currently students at McGill, except for Newton, who’s at Concordia, and guitarist Ouimet, an Ottawa University grad. All members went to the same high school with the exception of Newton, so growing up together really compliments the band’s chemistry.
“Primarily we’re friends, not just a coalition of musicians,” explains Garrett.
“When we get together we jam, drink beer, play Playstation and then go out afterwards, it’s great!”
With school and work, Ryde still manages to practice about five to six hours a week and perform about eight shows a year.
“One of the reasons we have so much energy at our shows is that we don’t get to perform very often,” says Ouimet.
“Each show is an event for us,” says Garrett. “We look forward to it.”
The Ouimet brothers built a studio in their basement specifically for their band to practice in.
The newest addition to the band is Newton, their MC/freestyle rapper who adds a hip-hop twist to Ryde’s style of music.
One of Ryde’s biggest achievements was winning the “Battle of the bands” in 1999 where they beat out 32 bands from all over Montreal receiving $4,000 in studio recording time. The band is saving the time to put toward their first full CD, which Ouimet hopes to have finished by the end of the summer. They are also
planning on entering two radio song-writing competitions at Mix 96 and CHOM.
As for the future, Ryde isn’t operating on a five-year plan. They’re enjoying making music and are taking whatever comes their way.
“I think all of us would be ready to commit to a record deal if the opportunity came along,” says Ouimet.
Garrett doesn’t feel a need to rush into anything.
“Getting a record deal is like getting a girlfriend,” laughs Garrett. “If you
actively pursue someone you’ll get nowhere. If you just relax then the best things will come your way.”
Visit Ryde’s Web site at www3.sympatico.ca/ryde/ for information on the band and any upcoming shows.
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